


The Vault of Fears

by anaturalintrovert



Series: Ni No Kuni Fics [3]
Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst, Platonic Relationships, Remember the vault of tears?, Tags Are Hard, Very Very Light Angst, remember how swaine has a fear of snakes?, swaine time again
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-13
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:09:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,021
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26446138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaturalintrovert/pseuds/anaturalintrovert
Summary: The party have to return to the Vault of Tears in pursuit of supplies while preparing to go to Perdida for the first time. Swaine isn’t having fun. Oliver and Drippy aren’t having tons of fun. Esther is the only one actually enjoying herself.
Relationships: Jairo | Swaine & Maru | Esther & Oliver (Ni no Kuni) & Shizuku | Drippy
Series: Ni No Kuni Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899427
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, isn’t it obvious that Swaine is my favourite character? I’ve been wanting to do something with the Vault of Tears for ages now, but sticking to canon proved too difficult (which is why I ended up setting this fic between major plot points).  
> Also! Esther being fond of creatures that many typically find creepy (like snakes and bugs and the like) is a concept I wanted to try out. Also Oliver and Drippy being afraid of water. This is mostly Swaine centric though.  
> Enjoy!

"Why are we back here again?"

Swaine knew the Vault of Tears well. Very well. He was ashamed to admit it, but he still had nightmares about the place. The snakes. Ugh, the snakes. The frogs were no treat either. Being turned into a frog had made it onto his list of worst events to occur in his life. It came second only to when he ran away from Autumnia.

And now the party had dragged him back there. They'd decided to take on some quests before heading to Perdida for the first time, find some supplies, and find more familiars.

"I want to tame one of those Beasties. One of the snakes." Esther pointed, clutching her harp with her other arm. How he'd managed to step into the room with that wretched snake statue was beyond him. Esther had half dragged him.

"Try it and I'll break your harp."

"Please don't fight," Oliver begged. "Look, Swaine, we just need you to use your gun and get us some good supplies. Plus your wit is helpful."

"Take my revolver then. I'll be outside."

"Your revolver doesn't have wit, mun! Get a grip." Drippy hopped onto Swaine's shoulder.

"Stop doing that, we've talked about this! It gives me a heart attack!" He flicked him off. "And I can't help my fear of snakes. Or frogs. They're slimy, fast, and hard to shoot. Seriously, try and land a single hit on one."

"Just use Sureshot, you'll be fine," Oliver reassured.

"And get three bullets before I have to chug a coffee? Fat chance!"

"I'm done arguing with you, let's go monster hunting!"

Esther ran ahead, carefully dodging the glare from the statue of Aapep. She darted across the stone walkway, past the rushing water which clearly made Oliver and Drippy uneasy. "We're still doing this, Swaine, so why won't you, eh?"

"Mr. Drippy!" Oliver scolded.

"Because—" [Because I'm emotionally more unstable than you. Because I refuse to take solace in asking for help. I refuse to accept help. I'm being bested by two children and a fairy. I've been through Hell and back, and yet somehow these kids are winning and I am losing.] “I am doing it, aren't I? Keep your lantern on."

Through tight corridors that Swaine couldn't escape from were he to be chased by snakes. Through dank and deadly rooms that were crawling with the blighters. Through the dim, through the bright, everywhere.

He couldn't turn back because no-one would back him up. That was the worst part.

"Pretty boy doesn't have to slog through these." He spoke with humour and jest as to not upset himself or his party. Trying to be optimistic. Thinking about his brother now brought him at least a modicum of joy, so that was certainly good. Swaine never let his revolver leave his hand for even a second. Couldn't let his guard down, fond memories or not.

"What pretty boy does have is a cool brother."

"What do you know about Gascon, Esther? Barely even met the kid."

"Still not admitting it?" She got distracted quickly. Call it courage, call it stupidity. "Ooh, that Beastie looks good to tame. Look at those scales..."

"How far are we going in?" Swaine asked. He didn't want to run. He was sick and tired of running away. For once he had found a place where he belonged, and he and Esther both owed Oliver for rescuing them from being brokenhearted. His impulsivity was kicking in though. Him and Esther were similar like that, only her impulsivity was due to curiosity and his was due to nothing, just the joy of doing things and the positive consequences for him.

Him, him, him, all about him. Perhaps he hadn't grown out of his brattiness.

"We're heading to where we fought Aapep and back. We could have missed some treasures down there." Oliver snuck up behind one of the Beasties and initiated a battle. It was easy to take down, but unfortunately didn't want to be tamed. Well, fortunately for Swaine.

"Why are you even so afraid of snakes? Look at their little faces!" Esther cooed over one of the slithery creatures. Wretched things. Horrible.

"Little aggressive hard-to-kill faces."

"Swaine!"

"It's true!"

"You two bicker like kids..." Oliver complained. "Look, I promise that we can go to somewhere with no snakes after this. We can revisit Yule!"

"Deal with that weather? Hard pass."

"Castaway Cove?"

"And get arrested? Hard pass."

"Where have we been to that you like?"

Swaine thought for a while. "I liked Hamelin and when we went to Ding Dong Dell for a bit. I have a soft spot for cats."

"Ding Dong Dell? Done. We'll go there after this."

"Duck!"

Oliver instinctively ducked into a ball as Swaine shot over his head, a Sureshot, at the snake who was staring right at them. It got close to being knocked out, but stayed standing. Just as Swaine was about to hit it with a Mugshot, Esther stopped him and started to serenade it. "No no no, don't—"

The snake stopped trying to attack and even let Esther hold it. Swaine stood a good few metres away, pretty much on the opposite side of the room. "No."

"Swaine, please."

"Absolutely not."

"He's friendly. Just try to hold him!"

"If you keep that, I swear—"

"What'll you do? Run away?"

"I'll pass out during a battle because that thing'll trip me up!"

Esther looked the snake in the face. "What should I call him?"

"Noodle?" Oliver suggested, taking the snake in his arms.

"Call it Shadar, it's just as rotten as him," Swaine scoffed.

Esther gasped, offended. "You're one to talk!"

"It's like babysitting..." Drippy complained.

"It is babysitting," Oliver agreed. "I'm sure we can compromise."

"Let me take a look at it. Not too close," Swaine warned when Esther went to pass him the creature. "It looks strong. Could help us in battle. I hate to admit it, but we could use it— WATCH IT!"

Esther dumped the snake in his arms and he very nearly dropped it. He lay it on the floor as quickly as he could and caught his breath, stepping back. "Never ever do that again, you hear me?"

"You were saying?"

"So long as you keep that thing FAR AWAY FROM ME while in battle..."

[I'm going to regret this, I'm going to regret this so badly...] Swaine thought.

"...you can keep it."

"You won't regret this!"

[I will, I one-hundred percent will...]

"Now that that's sorted, can we just finish this and start heading back?"

"Definitely!" Oliver reassured the ex-thief. "Look, we're already in the statue room, Aapep— well, where Aapep used to be— is right over here."

"Fantastic." Swaine rolled his eyes and followed them in.

Entirely empty, and frankly Swaine didn't know what Oliver had been expecting. "Great, I think we're done here," Swaine concluded.

"Wait... do you hear that?"

"Oh, come on, Esther, can you not make fun of my fears for five minutes? I don't bully Oliver and Drippy for being scared around water, so you shouldn't bully me about—"

"Duck!"

Swaine waited for what could have been a second too long before he ducked, a fireball shooting barely over his head. He stood straight up, his eyes owlish. "You nearly shot me in the face with a fireball!"

"Your face nearly got in the way of Oliver's fireball, mun! Turn around, Mug-face!" Drippy yelled, immediately making for the sidelines as per usual.

"Oh sweet lord..."

It wasn't Aapep, but it was pretty close. Giant snake. Probably venomous. A rattle at the end of its tail. No arms, though, but those fangs...

"Nope."

"Swaine—"

"I can't."

"Come on—"

"Five o'clock!" Swaine shot the nightmare of a boss with a Mugshot, just to stall and be able to pull Oliver out of the way. He failed to nick anything. "Okay, if I have a panic attack here, back me up."

"On it. Sure you can't steal anything from it?" Oliver called for an All Out Defense just to avoid getting too much health chipped off of the party.

Another Mugshot, got a stardrop. "Well, Al Khemi will be happy. Does someone need a Mega Stardrop?"

Oliver cast burden to keep the creature weighted down. "Try Mugshot one more time and then get one of your familiars on him or something. Can you subdue it with music, Esther?"

"I can subdue anything with music," she boasted. "Go for it, scaredy-cat!"

"I'm not— GAH!" Swaine failed to steal anything, and that probably had something to do with the fact that he nearly threw himself backwards towards the exit. Oliver worried for a second that he'd run, but the man got up and landed one more Mugshot. He stole nothing but stalled the creature long enough for Esther to start playing her harp. Thank God he didn't have to use a familiar. Gunther really didn't like him. The large snake didn't fall in love or wish to join the party or anything ([Thank goodness,] Swaine thought to himself) but it did relax into a slumber.

"How long will it be asleep for?" Drippy quote-unquote whispered (it was a quiet yell but Drippy preferred to think of it as whispering).

"I don't know..." Esther looked at Swaine.

"No, you can't keep it. Absolutely not."

"Please?"

"You're pushing it with that Beastie— familiar you caught earlier. No."

"Let's just lock it back in. I think I still have the Serpent's Key. We can come back with back up at some point." Oliver crept towards the exit, sneaking the Serpent's Key out of his bag.

Swaine only felt true comfort when the door was locked behind him. He let out a sigh of relief he was very aware he'd been holding. His lungs hurt. "I'm getting a room at the Cat's Cradle in Ding Dong Dell and you lot can do nothing to stop me."

"Roger!"


	2. BONUS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Swaine didn’t look where he was going as he left, so whoops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAHA IT’S A TWOSHOT YOU COWARDS YOU WERE FOOLED  
> That aside, enjoy!

"Rob-it... Rob-it... (This is humiliating...)"

"Have you tried casting Nature's Tongue? Swaine, a hopefully ex-thief, saying 'rob-it' of all things is starting to bother me." Oliver nodded at Esther and pulled Mornstar from his bag while Esther continued to laugh at the large frog sat uncomfortably in her hands. "You okay in there, Swaine?"

"RRRob-it! R-Rob-it! Rob-it! (I'd hop out of your hands and push you in front of that statue if I could!)"

Swaine was an observant person, so it was surprising that he forgot about the statue at the entrance. His brain was too focussed on the whole leaving thing. The second he saw the eyes flash red, he knew that he'd made a horrible mistake. Another twenty or so minutes in this wretched place and in frog form no less! It was enough to make a grown man cry at the thought. Swaine had in fact cried over the memories of being a frog, that and the treacherous amounts of snakes in the crypt.

Oliver moved his wand with practice, casting Nature's Tongue. Swaine shook his head, adjusting back to human speech. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding, I could never bring myself to push you."

"Aren't you just lovely today?" Esther patted his head patronisingly.

"Kind of hard to be optimistic when you're a tenth of your regular size and are covered in slime. Also if you touch my head again I'll hop out of your hands and find the magic circle myself."

Esther crouched down and ushered Swaine off of her palms and onto the floor. "You can be carried when you drop the attitude. Try to keep up!"

"I— Gah, you're all insufferable! Except for you Oliver."

"Oh, thank you." Oliver touched his heart.

The four of them - well, a fairy, two children and a frog - headed down the corridors in search of the nearest magic circle. They found it with relative ease, since the snakes seemed to dislike hanging around in dank corridors when full rooms were at their disposal, and Swaine found himself human once more. He was nearly panting from stress. "Oh thank goodness. I never thought that I'd say this, but I missed my face."

"We didn't."

"Nobody asked, Esther."


End file.
